Bernardo Alberto Houssay, MD
Bernardo Alberto Houssay (April 10, 1887 – September 21, 1971). Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Houssay was a physiologist who would go on to be the first Latin American Nobel Laureate for his work on understanding the pituitary gland and its connection to regulating glucose. As one of eight children of French immigrants, Bernardo […]
David Joaquín Guzmán, MD
David Joaquín Guzmán (August 15, 1843 – January 20, 1927). Born in 1843 in San Miguel, San Salvador, El Salvador, to the future president of El Salvador. After the war with Guatemala, Dr. Guzmán would go on to focus on public education and vaccination while undergoing multiple geological and archeological studies of El Salvador. He […]
Eugenia Maria del Pino Veintimilla, PhD
Dr. Eugeneia Maria del Pino was born on April 19, 1945 in Quito, Ecuador. She received a Licentiate Degree (1967) from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE), a MSc (1969) from Vassar College, and PhD (1972) in Biology from Emory University. After her PhD she accepted a professorship back at PUCE to establish the field […]
Evangelina Villegas, PhD
Dr. Evengelina Villegas (October 24, 1924 – April 24, 2017) was an agricultural scientist born in 1924 in Mexico City, Mexico. She received her BA in Chemistry and Biology from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) of Mexico. Between her BA and MS, she worked as a chemist for Mexico’s National Institute of Nutrition and the […]
Jacinto Convit García, MD, DS
Jacinto Convit Garcia (September 11, 1913 – May 12, 2014). Born in 1913 in Caracas, Venezuela, Dr. Jacinto Convit Garcia was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (1988) in Medicine for his contributions towards the development of a cure for leprosy. Jacinto Convit received his Doctorate in Medical Sciences from the Central University of Venezuela […]
Pedro Eleodoro Paulet Mostajo, PhD
Pedro Paulet Mostajo (July 2, 1874 – January 30, 1945). Born 1874 in Tiabaya, Arequipa, Peru, under very humble beginnings, Dr. Pedro Paulet would go on to found Peru’s aviation division while being the first to propose a liquid-propelled rocket. After being inspired by the French novel From the Earth to the Moon, Paulet graduated […]
Rebeca Gerschman, PhD
Dr. Rebeca Gerschman (June 19, 1903 – April 4, 1986). Born in 1903, in Carlos Casares, Argentina Dr. Rebeca Gerschman became the first to suggest that the toxicity of oxygen-free radicals led to cell aging and death. After completing her undergraduate studies in Pharmacy and Biochemistry, she continued at the University of Buenos Aires and […]
Sara Borrell Ruiz, PhD
Dr. Sara Borrell Ruiz (1917 – 1999). Born 1917 in Madrid, Spain, Dr. Sara Borrell Ruiz made significant contributions to the field of oncology, endocrinology, and biochemistry by establishing the connection between hormones and tumor growth. After being denied acceptance in the University of Madrid for Agricultural Engineering, like her brother, she was encouraged to […]
Alejandro Posadas, MD
Born in 1870 in Saladillo, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, Dr. Alejandro Posadas would pioneer thoracic surgery in Argentina while performing the first ever filmed operation. He would attend the Jesuit’s College of El Salvador before continuing to the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine (1894). His thesis was titled “Toracoplastia temporaria y parcial” or […]